Dallas Man Writes Letter to One of the World's Foremost Urbanists, Social Media Magic Ensues

Speaking of suicide, Robin Williams was found dead in his house.  The cause of death was asphyxia, and there have been strong suggestions it was suicide.

What a funny guy and a comic genius.

I missed, on my first read through the letter, the part where he gets into the cost of his annual pass: $600.

I emphasize annual, as it is not an option for the everyday commuter, I'm guessing it is something only for city/county/state employees.

I'm not complaining about my monthly pass rates, it saves me a ton of money over driving.  But it is rather grating to see someone moaning about their struggles, when their choices  are being further subsidized to the tune of $360/year.  Not their requirements or needs, their choices.

"The personal struggles of Brian and his friends, the daily inconveniences and insults -- and injuries -- thrust upon them by their auto-centric landscape put a human face on the theoretical arguments we planners make every day, and made them more real," = utter horseshit.

Nobody is owed a walkable lifestyle.  Brian's personal choices have led to his difficulties, plain and simple.  I can sympathize, having made the attempt to reduce my own dependency on a vehicle over the last several months.  It is difficult to do so in Dallas, even more so since I live on the far southeast side of the Grove.  Yes, I walk a mile and a quarter to and from the nearest bus stop.  Yes I have to leave earlier to get where I want to go and have to plan on walking intermittently to get there.  None of these things were thrust on me by Dallas' 'autocentric' landscape.  These are the tradeoff I make to save money and live a little bit healthier.

And to compare his walk to climbing Everest....... what a turd.

Watch out Bryan, Tony Stewart's lookin' for a place in Oak Lawn.

Without addressing Mr. Speck's delusions of self-grandeur - not to mention errors, Dallas actually does have dozens of "walkable" neighborhood enclaves with adequate services.  But, Mr. Speck's thermometer must have broken instead of his crystal ball. 

I actually admire what I perceive to be his goals, but it would take decades to "redesign and re-do Dallas without catastrophic impact on so many of its citizens who like it the way it is. 

In a city with temperature extremes from measurements ranging from 107 F. to 21 F, opportunities for normal people for walking are rather limited.  In fact, Dallas is subjected to such extremes that downtown merchants don't host sidewalk cafes because they wouldn't receive profitable use.

This is another reality the bicycle people seem to have missed.

For grins, do a traffic study on the Katy Trail, and you'll find that the heaviest use in near-downtown where living density is the greatest (and most residents are younger.)  But, it's still not all that crowded, even on weekends.  By the time you get to Knox and the Park Cities, the use is almost scarce by comparison.

I'm all for the "walkable" enclaves we have; we walked everyplace in the neighborhood as kids. But, we were bullet-proof, impervious to Sun and arctic winds, and never worried about strange people molesting us (other than polite police officers asking why none of us owned shoes or very many clothes.)

This penchant for "walkable cities" may sound good on paper as a means of promoting better health and better air quality, but the reality of Dallas is that we are an automobile city with many neighborhoods that are not all that dense, large well-kept yards, roomy houses, and a fortune in parking spaces. 

That's why so many people have moved here.

I bet Brian gets the last laugh when he sees an obese driver squeeze out of the car and waddle into Krispy Kreme for a donut hit.

Now isn't that special.

Personally, I would like some relief from the daily struggles of life.

I'd be willing to bet that this guy has lots of trophies for excellent participation.

@Q8DHIMMI That's the absolute truth.  Any moron who rides a bicycle in the bike lanes downtown has a death wish, and it's prima facea evidence for insantity.

@noblefurrtexas

63 years old.  Was in rehab for alcohol.  

Great comedian.  Good actor.  Too bad.

@holmantx

And Chevys are pretty cheap now.

@OakParkStudio

He did say he was from San Antonio.

Probably stood in line all day waiting for the Alamo Basement tour.

@RTGolden1 A dollar a day isn't bad.  I don't remember what my subway pass was when I was in New York City on TDY for 90 days.  But, it was an arm and a leg and part of my backside to purchase.  The good news was you could use it as often as you wanted to - day or night.

@RTGolden1 my company pays for DART passes and we get a company discount on Annual Passes.  I have a co-worker who got a group of 6 at his office to go in on a DART annual, because his company wouldnt pay for one,but DART had to come to the office make sure they were legit and then get payroll involved where the annual pass was auto deducted from their paycheck.  Still it was worth the Hundreds in savings for sure

@Myrna.Minkoff-Katz Thank you, Myrna.  Now I can't get that ugly visual out of  my head.  :)

@bvckvs @charlie.w.ingram When you think about it, "subversive" is an accurate word. 

The development of the United States has been nothing but spectacular.  It's one of the exceptional traits of our country.  But, if you've ever studied modern American city planning, you find that most early county seats were the center of a town square, and surrounded by various retail stores and businesses. 

The development and growth of larger cities also has a patten of growth and development.  And, transportation means other than walking become necessary.  Horses, wagons, coaches, eventually horse-drawn streetcar rail, and heavy rail allowed people to be able to setter farther away, and still have access to the necessities and government transactions without walking. 

Most New World cities were NEVER made for "walking".  If they were, New York  and Chicago and San Francisco would look very different. In fact, one reason for building tunnels and sky bridges in Dallas was to allow people to walk to some parts of downtown without dodging traffic and without the dangers of inclement weather - - much of the time. 

There's nothing wrong with certain businesses locating near dense housing and apartment areas; that's good marketing.  And, MOST personal dwellings are sold on access to businesses; restaurants, shopping, grocery stores, pharmacies, etc. 

UPTOWN is an excellent example of the symbiotic relationship of businesses and personal dwellings.  But, most of the safe walking has only a two or three block extension.

Trying to turn Dallas, Texas, one of the most car-centric cities on the planet, into some kind of quaint California walking community like Carmel is neither good planning nor good interaction with municipal government. and terrible interaction with reality.

@zappas.stache @noblefurrtexas I can't remember when I saw this, but there was an index of mass "transportation necessities" for various ages that I found fascinating.

At 65 and above, there is heavier ridership to doctors' offices, dentists, the Zoo (time off for retirees), arts amenities, and shopping.   (Most people going to or from hospitals go by car or cab.)

At ages 43-60, most trips are work, grocery stores, other shopping necessities, plane/train travel locations, arts amenities, some to healthcare professionals, some to clubs, exercise facilities, a lot to restaurants,   Most - not all - dating is by car or taxi. 

At ages 30 - 43, most trips are work, shopping centers, arts amenities, Zoo, restaurants, some business travel locations, some to graduate school facilities, financial (loan, banks, savings), some dating (highly variable as to origination and destination),  and grocery and shopping. 

Ages 18-29 (close if not correct) were all destinations you might predict.  Educational, work, airports, exploration transit (light rail and buses), social venues and clubs, shopping, and into neighborhoods as well as commercial centers. 

Under 18 most people already know or could easily predict.

@JohnSmallBerries Fair enough. 

So, how about saying Dallas is now, and must remain for decades, a street, road, bridge, signal light, stop sign, traffic cop, parking space and parking garage/lot city.

I think you fail to recognize that switching from horses to street cars, to trucks and cars didn't require a great many changes in superstructures that wouldn't already have been needed if they started with cars. 

They still required parking spaces, service businesses, and connecting streets and bridges. Need proof?  Look at street maps of Dallas a hundred years ago, and you'll see most of today's downtown and near-downtown streets were there, then.

Also don't forget that trolley lines still operated with other vehicles.  What basically changed was easily moveable routes with buses, faster transportation, parking lots and garages, and less expensive street repairs that didn't have the impediment of imbedded rails. 

@noblefurrtexas  Mee hee hee!

@TheLetterWriter @JSSS Early on, DART was warned by planners and municipal transportation experts that the rules for infrastructure requirements were about the same for street cars.  But, more than that, Dallas need to have inexpensive taxi zones downtown, or ridership would dramatically suffer. 

And it has. 

New York subways, and Chicago elevated rails, work because businesses, hotels, restaurants, and shopping areas were easily available from rail stops because of inexpensive cabs readily available to take you to the specific destination you desired. 

Dallas still suffers from vision in that area, and has allowed cab fares to steadily increase instead of keeping fares low and keeping driver income steady because of an increase in passengers. 

I think walking around your own neighborhood is great exercise and good for seeing neighbors as well as learning about new places in the area.  But, serious transportation in Dallas is years away from being "walkable", and possibly never. 

@TheLetterWriter  Myrna has found that to be true with some stations.  But, keep in mind, as those of us who have lived in NE cities know well, Dallas has a vast land area that has yet to see realized the kind of density which is characteristic of older cities such as Boston, New York, and Philadelphia.

@noblefurrtexas @JohnSmallBerries made even less expensive by the City's seeming refusal to make any of those street repairs!

@JohnSmallBerries Park Lane.  Then take the 702 bus for the half-mile to North Park or walk on a non-awful weather day.

@RTGolden1 @noblefurrtexas @JohnSmallBerries 

Very true. 

One of the worst things about this mess is that the previous city policy that did all street repairs on a timely basis, and based on need in terms of hazards or traffic pattern, were always done out of a robust street maintenance budget.  

However, when George Shrader - our best city manager ever, retired from City Hall, his successor - Chuck Anderson - relegated street repairs to bond campaign budgets (an irresponsible move ), and it's never again changed back. 

So, Dallas is now always behind on street maintenance and repair, and the quality of Dallas streets has greatly degenerated. 

@anon-mouse @The_triplefake_Brandon_Eley I have learned a new word - "decuntize".   I presume this is a phrase intended for the fairer sex since someone can hardly take from his ensemble of assets that which he does not have.

As Benjamin Franklin once opined, "Calling someone by another name is like calling an ox a bull. He's thankful for the honor, but he'd much rather have restored what's rightfully his".

@The_triplefake_Brandon_Eley @anon-mouse I'm pretty sure you can have that post laminated and made into a name tag.  :)